My name is Patrick. I started my career
as a lawyer in Ireland, but I have been working
in the European Commission in Brussels since
1990.
Having played a role in creating the EU's
internal
market I strongly support the principle of
the free movement of good. But I also know that
Europeans want the products they buy to be
safe. That is why my job is to ensure national
governments around the EU all play their part
in keeping unsafe products off the EU's
internal market.
I work to ensure they observe the EU's
rules on the
safety
of consumer products and services, while
colleagues elsewhere in the Directorate-General
for Health and Consumer Protection apply the
EU's rules on
food
safety. We publish weekly bulletins on our
website of unsafe products that have been
identified by the national authorities (
food
product alerts,
consumer
product alerts).
Our Directorate-General also runs a
number of scientific committees that can
advise
us about the risks of particular chemicals,
or specific types of consumer goods or even
newly emerging health threats. When we need
scientific advice about food safety risks,
however, we ask the
European Food
Safety Authority.
